Georgia seeks $390K from DE Damon Wilson for transfer damages - ESPN

Georgia's athletic department is headed to court to try to obtain $390,000 in damages from a former standout defensive end who transferred from the school after his sophomore season in a potentially precedent-setting case.

The Bulldogs have asked a judge to force former defensive end Damon Wilson, currently the top pass rusher on Missouri's defensive line, to enter into arbitration to settle a clause in his former contract that serves effectively as a buyout fee for exiting his deal early. Wilson played for Georgia as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Missouri in January, two weeks after signing a new deal with Georgia's Classic City Collective.

Many schools and collectives have started to include «liquidated-damages» clauses in their contracts with athletes to protect their investment in players and deter transfers. Georgia is one of the first programs to publicly try to enforce the clause by filing suit against a player.

«When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same,» athletics spokesman Steven Drummond said in a statement to ESPN on Friday.

Multiple attempts to reach Wilson for comment through family members Friday were unsuccessful. Wilson was served last week in Missouri with a summons to appear in court, according to legal documents.

The Bulldogs paid Wilson a total of $30,000 from the disputed contract. Because of the way the deal was crafted, Georgia says Wilson owed it $390,000 in a lump sum within 30 days of his decision to leave the team. Drummond declined to comment when asked why the damages being sought are much higher than the amount Wilson was paid.

Wilson signed a term